Steam iron



J. H. BEACH STEAM IRON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 22, 1952 s m N 1 m @R\ a, an i QRNNN (N u -6 6 u w R B INVENTOR. fasziae H e /Z wfi ATTORNEY.

Nov. 22, 1955 J. H. BEACH 2,724,197

STEAM IRON Filed July 22, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VE N TOR c/Zzsce United States Patent Othce STEAM IRON Justice H. Beach, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 22, 1952, Serial No. 300,283 6 Claims. (Cl. 38-77) The present invention relates to electric steam irons and more particularly to means for attaching the water reservoir to the sole plate.

An object or" the invention is to provide a structure for removably attaching the water reservoir to the sole plate. A further object is to resiliently clamp the res ervoir to thesole plate independently of the cover shell, whereby the reservoir may be completely assembled prior to attaching the cover shell and handle. Another object is to provide a structure for sealing a valve in the steam generating chamber and also attaching the reservoir to the sole plate. Still another object is to provide a clamp for the reservoir completely exterior of the latter and below the reservoir for ease in assembling the cover shell. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and drawing wherein:

in section of a steam shown, conduct steam from the chamber to unshown outlets in the face 16 of the sole plate It] for treating the fabric to be ironed. A sole plate cover 17 is removably attached to the sole plate 10 by screws 18, and includes an opening 19 communicating with the chamber 15. Staked to the upper surface 20 of the sole plate cover 17 is a metal member 21 having an opening 22 formed in a depending flange 23 positioned within and spaced from the opening 19 to arrange the reservoir 11 on the sole plate 10.

The reservoir 11 is formed of upper and lower sections 25 and 26 joined together along the side walls 27 by a projecting rolled bead 28. Extending through the reservoir 11 is a tube 29 which receives in spaced relation a stem 30 of an unshown thermostat positioned below the reservoir to control the temperature of the sole plate 10. A dial 31 is removably connected to the upper end of the stem 30 and is detachably secured to the cover shell by spaced springs 32 riveted at 33 to the shell 12. Another tube 35 extends through the reservoir 11 and receives a bolt 36 threaded into a nut 37 anchored on the sole plate 10. The bolt 36 removably secures the cover shell 12 to the sole plate on a plurality of buttons 38 to form a slot 39 for admitting cooling air into the interior of the cover shell.

The rear leg 40 of the handle 13 is secured to the cover shell 12 by screws 41, and the front leg 42 by a screw 43 attached to a bracket 44 which extends upwardly into and is secured to the hollowed portion 45 of the leg 42. The rear end of the handle is provided with a projection 46 which cooperates with the rear end 47 of Patented Nov. 22 19,55

the cover shell to support the iron in upended rest position.

Slidably extending into the hollow portion 45 of the handle front leg 42 is a tube 50 having a front filling opening 51 and its lower end 52 is permanently attached to the reservoir 11 for filling the latter with water.

A valve member 55 is permanently attached to the reservoir casing section 26 and has an arcuate outer sur face 56 conforming to the flanged opening 22 to seat thereon. A small opening 57 is provided in the member 55 to feed water into the chamber 15 to produce steam. The feed opening 57 is controlled by valve stem 58 extending through the reservoir 11 and tube 50 to a member 59 for reciprocating the valve stem to open and close and feed opening 57.

The reservoir 11 is positioned above the sole plate 10 by a bracket 60 which underlies the head 28 at the rear end of the iron, and by the valve member 55 seated in the flanged opening 22. Extending laterally of the sole plate 10 is a substantially U-shaped resilient clamp 62 having a base 63 and upwardly projecting side arms 64- 64 provided at their free ends with a hook 65 which removably engage the bead 28 on the reservoir 11. A rigid member 66 overlies the base portion 63 to prevent flexing of the latter. A pair of washers 67 space the base 63 from the sole plate to prevent transfer of heatto the clamp. A pair of bolts 68 are threaded into the sole plate to removably secure the clamp 62 to the sole plate. The resilient arms 64 urge the reservoir 11 against the bracket 60 and the valve member 55 into the flange seat 22 to secure the reservoir in position.

In assembling the iron, the reservoir is positioned over the sole plate 10 by placing the valve member 55 in the flanged seat 22 and the bead 28 at the rear of the reservoir on the bracket 60. Thereafter the hooks 65 are snapped over the head 28 to secure the reservoir in position. The distance valve member 55 projects below the reservoir 11 is such that it places a stress on the resilient clamp arms 64 whereby the latter urge valve member 55 into vapor tight seating engagement with the flanged seat 22 and the head 28 to rest tightly against the bracket 61?. The handle 13 is secured to the cover shell 12 bysCrews 41-43, and the shell 12 is then placed. over the reservoir 11 with the fill tube 50 extending into the hollow handle front leg 42 until the marginal edge of the shell rests upon the bottoms 38. The bolt 36 is then passed through the tube 35 and threaded into the nut 37 to secure the cover shell and handle to the sole plate Without exerting pressure on the reservoir 11. Dial 31 is then attached to the thermostat stem 30 and it conceals the bolt 36.

From the foregoing it is apparent the resilient clamp 62 is completely exterior of the reservoir and does not interfere with assembling, as a unit, of the handle 13 and cover shell 12. Cover shell 12 is also attached to the sole plate independently of the reservoir and does not exert pressure on the latter. In addition, the reservoir is removably attached to the sole plate by snapping the resilient hooks 65 over the bead 28 of the reservoir. The projecting portion of the valve member 55 stresses the resilient clamp 62 to secure the reservoir on the sole plate and the clamp in turn seats the valve member 55 in vapor tight relation in the flanged opening 22. Any variations in manufacturing tolerances of the valve member 55 will be taken up by the resilient clamp 62 While I have shown and described but one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown and described but to include all equivalent variations except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means defining a steam generating chamber'carried by said sole plate and having an inlet, a reservoir overlying said sole plateand inlet and having a depending nipple in said inlet to discharge water into said chamber, support means on said sole plate supporting an end portion of said reservoir, resilient means attached to said sole plate and reservoir intermediate said support means and nipple, the projecting portion of said nipple being so dimensioned that said resilient means is placed under stress to secure said reservoir on said sole plate and seat said nipple in said inlet in fluid tight engagement.

2, In a steam iron, a sole plate, means defining a steam generating chamber carried by said sole plate and having an inlet, 'a reservoir overlying said sole plate and inlet and having a depending nipple in said inlet to discharge water into said chamber, support means on said sole plate supporting an end portion'of said reservoir, hook receiving means on said reservoir intermediate said support means and nipple, resilient means having one end attached to said sole plate and hook means at the opposite end removably engaging said hook receiving means, the projecting portion of said nipple being so dimensioned that said resilient means is placed under stress to secure said reservoir on said sole plate and seat said nipple in fluid tight engagement with said inlet.

3. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means defining a steam generating chamber carried by said sole plate and having an inlet, a water tank overlying said sole plate and inlet and having a depending nipple in said inlet to discharge water into said chamber, support means on said sole plate supporting an end portion of said tank, receiving means on opposite side Walls of said tank intermediate said support means and nipple, and resilient means attached to said sole plate projecting upwardly along said opposite side walls of said tank engaging said receiving means for attaching said tank to said sole plate, the projecting portion of said nipple being so dimensioned that said resilient means is placed under stress to secure said tank on said sole plate and seat said nipple in fluid tight engagement with said inlet.

4. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means defining a steam generating chamber carried by said sole plate and having an inlet, a reservoir overlying said sole plate and inlet 4 and having a depending nipple in said inlet to discharge Water into said chamber, support means on said sole plate supporting an end portion of said reservoir, receiving means on said reservoir intermediate said support means and nipple, resilient means having one end attached to said sole plate and the opposite end removably engaging said receiving means to secure said reservoir on said support means and said nipple on the wall of said inlet to said steam generating chamber 5. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means defining a steam generating chamber carried by said sole plate and having an inlet, a water tank overlying said sole plate and having a depending nipple in said inlet to discharge water into said chamber, bracket means upstanding from said sole plate and engaging said tank to support an end portion of the latter, hook-receiving means on the exterior of said tank intermediate said nipple and bracket means, resilient means having one end secured to said sole plate and having hook means at the opposite end removably engaging said hook receiving means, the projecting portion of said nipple being so dimensioned with respect to said bracket and resilient means that the latter is placed under stress to seat said tank on said bracket and said nipple in fluid-tight engagement with said inlet.

6. In a steam iron, a sole plate, means defining a steam generating chamber in said sole plate and having an inlet, a reservoir overlying said sole plate and inlet and having a depending nipple in said inlet to discharge water into said chamber, support means on said sole plate supporting one portion of said reservoir on said sole plate, hook receiving means on said reservoir at another portion thereof, resilient means having one end attached to said sole plate and having hook means at the other end removably engaging said hook receiving means, the projecting portion of said nipple being dimensioned to stress said resilient means when attached to said hook receiving means to seat said nipple in fluid tight engagement with the wall of said inlet.

Edwards Oct. 4, 1949 Dafiorn et a1. Oct. 7, 1952 

